Brazil’s financial contributions

Nominated ambassador to the UN, Mauro Vieira, announces payment of debts to international organizations

Nominated to be the next head of the Permanent Mission of Brazil to the United Nations, Ambassador Mauro Vieira guaranteed that Brazil plans to settle its financial obligations to international organizations, paying off part of the debt to the UN, OAS, Unesco and FAO, among others, before the end of 2016.

At a hearing held this Wednesday, August 10, in the Foreign Relations and National Defense Commission of the Senate to confirm his nomination to the position, the former Foreign Minister of the Dilma Rousseff government said that Brazil needs to pay US$117 million this year to the UN and that a bill for additional credit is now pending in Congress to reduce Brazil’s debt with various international organizations of which the country is a member.

“We are indeed behind on payments. We have a debt that evidently concerns the Foreign Ministry and the federal government, but that is now being dealt with,” said Vieira.

However, the ambassador stressed that payment of international contributions is the responsibility of the Planning Ministry and not the Foreign Ministry.

“The budget of the Foreign Ministry is infinitely lower than all Brazil’s annual contributions. But Brazil is a large country that has an important and established place in the world and that cannot fail to be represented in all the organizations. Brazil has a prominent and highly recognized voice in all of them,” he said.

Limitation of NGO participation in the UN

Vieira answered one of the questions submitted to the hearing by Conectas on how Brazil views the restriction on NGO participation in the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations of the UN.

“Brazil is a very open country, a democratic society in which there is participation by all sectors of society. We would never curtail any type of participation, whether by the press, by academia or by NGOs, or any organized participation by the citizens of any of the countries that have a contribution to make within the existing mechanisms,” he said.

“It was important to stress the commitment of Brazil to the participation of civil society actors in the bodies and processes of the United Nations. Unfortunately, however, Ambassador Vieira did not specify any measures to follow through on this commitment, such as whether Brazil would apply for a chair on the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations of the UN,” said Jefferson Nascimento, adviser to the Foreign Policy program at Conectas.

“The desired leadership from Brazil at the UN level requires a clear condemnation of the practices of countries that seek the limit international civil society participation,” he concluded.

At the end of the confirmation hearing, the nomination of Mauro Vieira was approved unanimously by senators. His nomination still needs to be put to a full session of the Senate. He will replace the also former Foreign Minister of Brazil, Antonio Patriota.